San Diego Veterans For Peace Operational Procedures

Monthly meetings shall be held on the first Tuesday of every month, unless the chapter votes to hold a monthly meeting on a different day because of special circumstances.

The meeting is open to all members.

The presiding officer is the President of the chapter.

In the absence of the President the Vice President shall preside.

Members are encouraged to participate by suggesting topics/issues to be placed on the agenda. Pursuant to the by-laws, the president will publish an agenda prior to each meeting.

The secretary of the chapter shall record written minutes of the meeting and submit the minutes to the president for approval and distribution to the general membership within one week of the general membership meeting.

Executive Committee Meetings:

The Executive Committee shall have those powers, duties and obligations enumerated in the by-laws.

The Executive Committee is made up of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, immediate past president, three elected members, and any member of SDVFP who holds elected or appointed office or committee appointment in the national VFP.

Typically the Executive Committee meetings are closed meetings, with only Executive Committee members in attendance. At the discretion of the President, he or she may open the meeting to all members or invite certain members to advise and assist the board on a specific issue.

The president may direct the secretary to record minutes of the meeting. Minutes are typically distributed to chapter members at the next monthly meeting.

Decisions and recommendations made by the Executive Committee shall be presented at the next general meeting for discussion and approval by the membership unless the by-laws authorize the Executive Committee to make the decision without chapter approval.

Ongoing Funding of Chapter Activities:

• General Fund:

The San Diego Veterans for Peace chapter is funded by dues, contributions and donations received from members and non-members. All funds received shall be deposited in the General Fund, unless specifically designated for the Campaign for Compassion or the Administrative Fund. All proceeds from sale of merchandise, publications, or other materials at SDVFP authorized or sponsored events shall be deposited in the General Fund (unless specifically designated otherwise).

The SDVFP General Fund is used to pay all expenses, including all rentals and materials, incurred in the day to day operation of the chapter as well as to fund any and all events and activities that are sponsored in whole or in part by SDVFP, except the Campaign of Compassion.

The General Fund shall have its own separate bank account. Funds in this account shall not be co-mingled with funds from any other SDVFP bank account.

Payment of obligations incurred by SDVFP, other than routine expenses, such as the rental for the meeting room, shall only be incurred and paid for out of the General Fund, by the following process:

a) The Executive Committee shall have authority to authorize payments not to exceed $300, for any activity or event sponsored in whole or in part by SDVFP and/or to manage the affairs of the chapter between plenary sessions of the chapter. The payment of funds shall be made by the treasurer upon approval of the president as provided in the by-laws.
b) The general membership must give prior approval for the expenditure of any General Funds for any expenses or obligations to be incurred by the chapter for any activity or event sponsored in whole or in part by SDVFP that exceeds $300. The payment of funds shall be made by the treasurer upon approval of the president as provided by the by-laws.

No payment from the general fund as described in paragraph 3 (a) and (b) above, shall be made without presenting to the treasurer receipts or other evidence that the expenses were incurred.

• Campaign for Compassion:

The Campaign for Compassion is a project of the SDVFP chapter that is funded by private donations from members and non members. The purpose of the Campaign for Compassion is to provide sleeping bags, rain ponchos and related accessories to homeless veterans and others in the San Diego community.

The Campaign for Compassion shall have a separate bank account. The funds in this account shall not be co-mingled with funds from any other SDVFP bank account. The Campaign for Compassion will be a self-sustaining campaign. No money shall be transferred from any other existing SDVFP bank account to support the Campaign of Compassion. Purchases will be made only when the bank account, dedicated to the Campaign for Compassion, has sufficient funds to pay for the purchase of sleeping bags, ponchos or related accessories.

The chapter’s authorized purchasing agent(s) shall only order sleeping bags, ponchos and related accessories after receiving prior approval from the treasurer. Approval will be given only if the chapter has the necessary funds in the Campaign for Compassion bank account to cover the purchases. The treasurer shall make a finding whether the Campaign for Compassion’s dedicated account, has sufficient funds to pay for all expenditures related to the purchase. As stated above, no money from any other account will be transferred to the Campaign for Compassion Account to assist in making the purchase.

This process for the purchase of sleeping bags, ponchos or other accessories shall be the sole and exclusive method by which the chapter is authorized to make purchases for the Campaign of Compassion. Any member who voluntarily purchases sleeping bags, ponchos or other accessories should not expect to be reimbursed for his/her contribution.

• Administrative Fund:

The Administrative Fund for the Campaign of Compassion was provided to SDVFP by an anonymous donor, who specified the fund be used solely to defray the cost of administering the Campaign of Compassion and not for the purpose of purchasing sleeping bags or other items to be distributed. The administrative costs include any and all materials, mailing costs and incidental fees associated with the Campaign for Compassion. A receipt for monies donated for the Administrative Fund shall be generated for the donors for tax purposes.

The Campaign for Compassion Administrative Account shall have its own separate bank account and will not be co-mingled with funds from any other SDVFP bank account.

If any issue arises as to whether a cost associated with the operation of the Campaign of Compassion should be deemed an administrative cost, the issue shall be referred to the Administrative Fund Oversight Committee for resolution. The Oversight Committee is made up of a designated agent, the president and the treasurer.

The Administrative Fund shall not be used to reimburse any member for personal or incidental expenses the member may incur while engaging in any activity or event sponsored in whole or in part by SDVFP.

Reimbursement to Members

SDVFP is a non-profit organization, and as a general rule, no member should expect to be reimbursed for personal or incidental expenses incurred while participating, as a chapter member on behalf of SDVFP, at any event or activity sponsored in whole or in part by SDVFP. The chapter does not expect any member to give financial support or to spend an inordinate amount of time on the chapter’s activities that the member cannot afford to give. Accordingly, members must decide how much time and effort to give to the activities and events sponsored by SDVFP, with no expectation that they will be compensated by the chapter for their time, effort or personal expenses they may incur.